Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Expected publication January 14, 2025 

by Atria Books

2.5/5 stars

Ever feel like you have read a completely different book than everyone else?  That's how I felt with Cross My Heart.

I grabbed this book because the story revolved around someone who had a recent heart transplant. Organ transplants is something I am somewhat familiar with, so I was intrigued to see how this would play out.

<sigh> The long and short is that I wasn't a huge fan, so I'll just make a list.

Pros

-It started off good

-Authentic portrayal of an organ transplant recipient. It showcases life with anti-rejection drugs, feeling unwell and the adjustment to the body especially during that first year.  There is more in the cons.

-A couple of twists that I didn't see coming

-I was genuinely curious about the ending.

Cons

-Length of chapters.  They were just too long and discouraged me from reading at times.

-Plot a little farfetched

-Too many cringeworthy scenes

-The Danish pastries! How many Danishes should a heart recipient eat?  None or close to, especially as a meal.

-While I enjoy listening to Taylor Swift, apparently the author is a super fan.

-Couldn't get into the male leads email writing style, unrealistic.

-Unresolved issues

All said and done I was genuinely interested in what happened, so that’s kept me reading.  For that I rounded up to 3 stars.

Thank you to Atria Books for a digital arc in exchange for honest review.